The Fight
by Sidekickwannabe
Summary: Raye and Serena get into a fight, during which they figure out what is most important


The Fight   
(Temporary Title)  
  
It was a warm sunny afternoon at Cherry Hill Temple. Raye, her dark amethyst eyes filled with annoyance, waited for the last member of her group. She sighed impatiently as she watched Serena slowly climb the stairs holding onto Darien's hand. The couple reached the top and embraced in a deep kiss. It ended a moment later and Serena and Darien slowly disentangled themselves. Darien hugged and kissed Serena once more and disappeared down the long steps. Serena sighed happily.  
  
"It's about time you got here, Meatball Head. The others are already inside," Raye said, pointing at the temple. "We're waiting for you."  
  
"Cool it, Raye. I'm in a good mood today and I won't let you ruin it. Besides, between Sailor business and school, I hardly get any time alone with Darien any more."  
  
"I wouldn't rag you about it if you weren't always late!"  
  
"You know something, I don't think it has anything to do with my being late. I think you're jealous because you don't have a boyfriend! Maybe it's not even that! Maybe you still love Darien!"  
  
Out of the corner of her eyes, Raye saw Mina, Ami and Lita step out of the building to listen. "I don't know why you insist on bringing that up! It has nothing to do with you being late!"  
  
"Really? Why are you getting so defensive?"  
  
"I'm NOT defensive! I'm angry that you brought something up that doesn't matter any more or have anything to do with this!"  
  
"It does! It does matter, Raye! It explains why you pick on me all the time!"  
  
"Don't be stupid, Serena! You know I'd never do that."  
  
"I'm not stupid, I'm not ditzy and I'm NOT a Meatball HEAD and I quit! Raye Hino, I never want to see you again!" Serena stormed off, leaving Raye very angry and her friends shocked.  
  
"Wow. What was that all about," Lita asked.  
  
"You saw it! Figure it out!"  
  
Mina stepped forward. "Whoa girl, no need to snap at Lita."  
  
Raye sighed and clenched a fist. "I'm sorry, Lita. That Meatball Head! She just makes me so mad I could slap her!"  
  
"Raye..."  
  
"Look, I didn't ask any of you! Geez, Serena had it coming to her. She's always late. I don't hate her, I never have and I never will. But I'm this close...If we don't push or encourage Serena to change her bad habits - and that means being late, she'll never be a queen worthy of respect!"  
  
Ami spoke up. "We all know you don't hate her. None of us said that. You're just rough on her."  
  
"All I did was tell Serena she was late. Serena's the one who jumped down my throat, okay? I'm really mad that she brought up Darien and my past feelings for him and blamed me for feeling a way I don't. I'd ask you to leave but since this is a temple and you have every right to be here, I'll leave. I have to go cool off. Hang around as long as you like. Excuse me."  
  
Lita, Ami and Mina watched Raye leave and a moment of silence passed over them until Lita spoke.  
  
"Well, who gets who?"  
  
"I'll take Raye," Ami said. "That leaves one of you to come with me."  
  
Mina grimaced. "Lita?"  
  
"Oh no. I got snapped at already and I've had my fill. I want Serena."  
  
"Rock, Paper, Scissors," Mina suggested. Lita nodded and they held out their hands. "One, two, three."  
  
Lita grinned. "Ha! Scissors cut paper! I get Serena."  
  
They said their good-byes, promising to meet at the Crown Arcade later. Lita headed toward Serena's house and Ami and Mina set off to find Raye.  
  
"Well, where do we go to first," Mina asked as she and Ami walked down the crowded street.   
  
"The park," Ami declared.  
  
"You expect something."  
  
"Nope. But I have a gut feeling that's where she'll be if trouble comes. Think about it, Mina. The three most likely places for an attack are the park, the downtown shopping center or the dock."  
  
"Could you just be guessing?"  
  
"My computer automatically does readings on the environment where we fight. Where was the last attack?"  
  
"The dock, I think."  
  
"And the one before that?"  
  
"Shopping center. I get it. Our enemies don't pick random places. They pick places where there's a crowd - probably because they know we'll hold back if there are people near by."  
  
They arrived in the park a few minutes later. Just as Ami said, Raye was there. She sat on a bench before a lake. Ami sat down on one side of Raye and Mina the other.   
  
Mina spoke first. "Hey girl. You okay?"  
  
"No. I'm not. I'm furious! I mean, I won't get blamed for something I don't feel. I love Darien but it's not like it used to be. He's sorta the big brother I never had. You don't go making assumptions about a situation you know nothing about and that's what Serena did. I don't ever want to see her again. It's over. I hate her.."  
  
"Raye, don't say things you might have to take back later."  
  
"Honestly Mina, I could care less! This isn't Sailor business so you have no authority in this. If you're my friend, act like it. Don't act like you can control the situation because you can't!"  
  
"It is Sailor business, Raye! If you've forgotten, Serena is Neo Queen Serenity! No Serena, no Crystal Tokyo!"  
  
"I haven't forgotten! Maybe you don't look at Serena as a normal person but I do! And she was late! Not five minutes late not even 30. 45 minutes late! And you might tiptoe around Serena but I refuse to!"  
  
"Listen, Raye, if you insult Serena one more time I swear I'll -"  
  
Ami could cut in before Mina could finish. The last thing she wanted was Raye and Mina fighting. "We can't have two feuding senshi and expect things to be normal. Who knows what will happen if you two don't apologize." Ami saw Raye's annoyed reaction. "Lita's on her way to Serena's to talk to her about the same thing. You're not the only one at fault here so don't think it's just you we're doing this to."  
  
"I know what you're doing is for good reason. But you want to know something? Serena made her choice and I don't feel that it's my place to get her to come back."  
  
Meanwhile, Lita found herself on Serena's doorstep ringing the doorbell. With her usual cheerfulness, Serena's mother answered the door with a smile. "Hello, Lita! You're here for Serena, aren't you? She been up in her room since she got home. Something's the matter, I think. She was crying and mumbling something about Raye but wouldn't talk to me about it. Did they have a fight again?"  
  
Lita nodded. "Yes, Ma'am. That's why I'm here."  
  
"I'm so happy Serena has friends like you. She's very lucky." Lita stepped inside and Serena's mother continued. "You've been good for her, you girls...Well, I have supper to fix. Serena's in her room - you know where it is."  
  
Lita smiled and climbed the stairs to Serena's room and knocked softly on the door. She heard a soft "Come in" and slowly entered her friend's room. Serena sat at her window, her back to the room.  
  
"Hi, Lita."  
  
"How'd you know it was me?"  
  
"I know the sound of your footstep."  
  
"Even on carpet?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess so. I don't know, it's easy to tell someone's footstep if you just listen."  
  
"You know why I'm here, don't you?"  
  
"Yes. I figured after a fight like that someone would come after me soon enough. The question is: why you?"  
  
Lita grinned sheepishly. "Rock, paper, scissors. Ami had taken Raye so Mina and I had to figure it out and that seemed the best solution."  
  
"Fair enough. So you're here to get me to apologize to Raye for our fight and go back to being Sailor Moon."  
  
"Exactly. You know, you're really insightful when you want to be."  
  
"It's one of those hidden character traits nobody knows about. No, Lita. You know me, I don't go back on my word - most of the time. I won't do that. Raye and I fight a lot and I'm sick of it. That was the last fight we'll ever have."  
  
Lita smiled. "Famous last words, Serena."  
  
"Not this time. I love Raye, I honestly do. But I can't stand the way she's always picking on me."  
  
"Serena, she does it partly because she expects you to react and the other reason is because Raye loves you."  
  
"Does she? Does she really?"  
  
Lita sat beside Serena and placed her hand on Serena's. "You mayn't realize it but she does. If she did, she wouldn't push you. I know you're mad at her. But you can't just forget about what you two have got."  
  
"I can't keep fighting to make sure it's going to last. After she started in on me about being late, I got so mad. I was in a good mood until she opened her big mouth."  
  
"You WERE late, Serena. And you might have been mad at Raye but you shouldn't have brought up Darien. You know she's never forgotten how she felt about him. I think your accusations really bothered her."  
  
Serena poked her bottom lip out and crossed her arms. "I'm still mad at her and I'm still not talking to her."  
  
"Suit yourself. I've done what I was supposed to do." Lita stood up and walked to the door. "What about Sailor Moon?"  
  
"I don't know about that. I said I quit without rationalizing it."  
  
"What does Luna think?"  
  
Serena sighed. "She's not talking to me. I didn't even get a chance to explain. She's staying with Artemis. It hurts."  
  
"Now you know how it feels."  
  
"Nicely turned tables. Let me think about it. I'll see you later."  
  
"Bye, Serena."  
  
  
An hour later, Ami and Lita were sitting at the Crown Arcade talking intently about their situation.  
  
"Well, I see where you're coming from," Lita said when Ami had finished telling her about Raye. "I hope they work this out. Mina should be with Raye now to bring her here. I think Mina said they'd get a drink at the park before they came."  
  
Mina sighed happily as she walked beside Raye through the park. It was turning into a beautiful evening. She was tired, though. Dealing with Raye took a lot of energy. Still, Mina thought, it was worth it to see the beautiful dusk.  
  
Screams from nearby quickly alerted the two young women and they transformed. A monster was attacking little kids. Mars grunted in disgust.  
  
"Hey Slimeface!" Sailor Mars yelled. "My pal Venus and I don't think you should be treating those kids that way!"  
  
"Try picking on someone who can fight back! Like us!" Venus yelled.   
  
"That's not very smart!" The monster hissed in anger. Its shape changed and Mars found herself looking at an exact clone of herself.  
  
Venus gasped. "I think we're in real trouble, Mars."  
  
"I can handle anything it throws at me. Call Lita and Ami. Tell them to get over here quick! I'll distract this thing and try to weaken it."  
  
Venus nodded and pulled away from Mars. "Guys! We need your help! Boogey over here ASAP!"  
  
"We'll be there in a flash!"  
  
"And Serena! Get Serena! If we have any hope of beating this thing, it'll be with her help!"  
  
"She quit, Venus. We can't force her-"  
  
"We need her! Right now Raye's fighting her clone and it doesn't look good!" Venus turned to jump into the fight when her communicator beeped. "Serena! Get your butt over here now!"  
  
"I'm not coming, Venus. You'll have to find another way to kill that thing. I - "  
  
A scream from Raye interrupted Serena and through her communicator, Serena she could see Venus turn, then grow incredibly pale. "Raye!" Venus yelled, forgetting everything and running to her   
friend. Venus groaned. "Oh no. No, Raye, no. This can't happen, it just can't! Don't do this, Raye! PLEASE wake up! Where the hell is Mercury?!!"  
  
When Sailor Moon got to the scene, she dusted the monster and turned to her friend. Mercury and Jupiter had arrived only minutes before, and while Jupiter fought, Mercury did everything she know to help Raye only to realize that nothing could be done.  
  
Jupiter stopped Sailor Moon as she tried to pass. "You don't want to see it, Serena."  
  
Serena pushed past her. "I'll decide that for myself. Dead or alive, I'm going to see her." She walked to Raye's body and fell to her knees. Her eyes met Mercury's in a hopeful gaze and Ami answered back with a small shake of her head. "Can I have a moment alone?"  
  
Mercury nodded and pulled Venus to her feet. Once alone, Serena started to speak. "Alright, Pyro, this is hard enough to say as it is but I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything. I can't cry. I have to say this without crying." Her voice cracked. "I don't know if I can..." Serena took a deep breath. "I can't imagine you dying so easily, Raye Hino. You'd fight if they told you not to. But it's not over yet." Serena took her broach in her hand and stood away from Raye. Closing her eyes, she spoke. "Queen Serenity, please give this crystal the strength to heal my friend. A life for a life, my own for her's."  
  
When Serena opened her eyes, Queen Serenity stood before her.  
  
"My young princess, how much do you love this girl?"  
  
"Your Highness, more than can be said in a thousand lifetimes."  
  
"Is she worthy of being saved?"  
  
"More worthy than I am to be Princess. And for my friend I would gladly give my life."  
  
"A most honorable answer. However, your life is not needed to save your friend. She is healed." Serenity motioned toward Raye and Raye's body began to glow red. The sign of Mars appeared on her forehead and glowed as well. Serena gasped and ran to Raye's side.  
  
Raye's eyes opened slowly. "Serena, what are you doing here? I thought I - "  
  
"You did. But all that matters is you're okay. I'm so sorry, Raye."  
  
"What? Why are you sorry?"  
  
"For our fight. For blaming you for loving Darien. I was wrong."  
  
Raye pulled herself upright and looked into Serena's eyes. "Serena, you did nothing wrong. We fight. It's something we've always done, something we'll always do. We would have found our way back to each other eventually."  
  
"I almost lost you."  
  
"Well you didn't. Do you think I would have gone that easily?" Raye joked. "Nothing in the world would have let me let you have the last word. I'm not that easy to get rid of."  
  
"I didn't really quit. I said it but I didn't mean it."  
  
"That's okay. I said I hated you; I lied. You know something? We have an incredibly huge job. We work more overtime than anyone and we don't get paid a thing. Okay, so the work isn't easy. But we're so lucky. Look what we get in return. We have the most eclectic group of allies and more second chances than should be allowed..."   
  
"And we not only get to witness the greatest peacetime achievement ever but we get to be a part of it. I understand. Just promise me something."  
  
"Only if you promise me something first."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Never hesitate to fulfill your destiny - which is being Sailor Moon. If you hesitate like that again, you might loose more than just a friend. It may very well be the end of everything you hold dear."  
  
"Okay, I promise. Now yours. I want you to never call me Meatball Head again."  
  
Raye stood and Serena followed. Laughing as they walked away in the fading light, Raye nudge Serena. "You know I can't do that. It's too much fun!"  
  
Serena laughed and tripped as she did so.   
  
"Nice move, Meatball Head!"  
  
"I thought I told you never to call me that!"  
  
"What? I never agreed!"  
  
"Yes you did!"  
  
"Did not!"  
  
"Did too!"  
  
"Did not!"  
  
"You always have to have the last word, don't you?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"You still agreed, you know."  
  
"Meatball Head, don't push me..."  
  
~END~  
  
AN: For those who don't know my style, I'm very partial to Ami instead of Amy. When using the American names it's usually Ami Anderson. I think it's cute. This was written January 2000 and I took me forever to find a suitable ending. *why is that the case with most of my fics? ^-^;* Anyway, a little bit o' drama and humor together to make one pretty good piece fiction. Admittedly, it's not my greatest, I know. But I thought I'd post anyway. Please let me know what you think! Duchess ^_~ 


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